A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who admitted to violating the civil rights of multiple victims through intimidation, illegal search warrants and other abuses of power, was sentenced Monday to nearly two years in prison.
Eric Saavedra, 42, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of making and subscribing to a false tax return. Saavedra founded a company — Saavedra & Associates LLC — that hired sheriff’s deputies to provide security to Adam Iza, a self-styled cryptocurrency businessman turned criminal defendant.
Iza typically paid Saavedra or his company around $100,000 per month for round-the-clock bodyguards, according to Saavedra’s plea agreement. The hired muscle protected Iza and sometimes committed crimes for him, according to the plea agreement.
“His conduct compromised the integrity of the sheriff’s department and the judiciary,” U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson said during the sentencing hearing Monday afternoon.
Anderson cited Saavedra’s “prompt and extensive cooperation” as a factor in lessening the sentence. The judge ordered Saavedra to pay nearly $100,000 in restitution to the IRS.
As part of his plea agreement, Saavedra agreed to forfeit several items he purchased as part of the conspiracy, including 32 Louis Vuitton bags, 27 pairs of Gucci shoes, five Louis Vuitton wallets, and a money-counting machine.
Federal prosecutors were seeking a prison sentence of at least a year and a half; Saavedra’s defense attorney had requested five years of probation, to include 24 months of home detention with location monitoring.
“I abused the trust of the badge,” Saavedra said during the hearing. “All I can do is stand here without qualification and say I’m sorry.”
Saavedra is among several former sheriff’s deputies who have admitted participation in a sprawling illegal enterprise run by Iza, who prosecutors say referred to himself as “the Godfather.” Saavedra is the last of the former sheriff’s deputies to be sentenced.
In a statement, the sheriff’s department said Saavedra separated from the department on March 13, 2025.
“The conduct in 2021 represents a serious betrayal of the badge, the oath to serve and protect, and the public’s trust,” the statement said. “Such conduct is unacceptable and inconsistent with the values and standards of our Department.”
Iza is awaiting sentencing in the Central District of California on charges of conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and tax evasion. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin and a kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024.
Saavedra, a former detective and federal task force officer, admitted in his plea agreement that his company began providing security to Iza around August 2021. Saavedra said he typically staffed at least two security guards to accompany Iza 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
According to the plea agreement, Saavedra recruited around 20 to 25 Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, as well as at least one former sheriff’s deputy and a sibling of a sheriff’s deputy, to work the shifts. Saavedra would also occasionally work the shifts himself.
The sheriff’s deputies and non-law enforcement officers who worked for Iza under Saavedra’s company made around $750 for each shift, according to the plea agreement.
Saavedra admitted to illegally using his department credentials to access sensitive law enforcement databases and obtain personal identifiable information about people Iza had personal or business disputes with, as well as their associates and family members.
In one case, Saavedra created a fake search warrant that he used to scare someone into paying his company for security services, according to the agreement. In another, the deputy admitted, he misled a narcotics detective, resulting in a drug raid on the home of a man Iza had previously extorted. In a third case, Saavedra said he lied to get a warrant, falsely claiming he needed to track a man’s cellphone as part of a firearms investigation.
After Saavedra secured the warrant and discovered the victim’s location, he gave that information to Iza — and later three people with guns tried to break into the man’s home.
Saavedra and his company provided services to Iza from August 2021 until around March 2022, when Iza left for Dubai, according to the plea agreement. When Iza returned to L.A. in July 2024, those services resumed until Iza’s arrest in September of that year.
“Defendant’s conduct is a blight on law enforcement, and its harm extends beyond his own misconduct,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo. “Defendant has undermined public confidence in the countless officers who exercise their authority lawfully and honorably.”
Among the former sheriff’s deputies who have been sentenced are Michael Coberg, who received more than five years in prison; Scott Simpkins, who received a year and a half; David Rodriguez, who received a year in prison; and Christopher Cadman, who received nearly two years in prison.
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